The wavelength selective switch (WSS) is a key enabling component for many optical circuit switching
(OCS) architectures, which have the potential to allow datacenters to continue scaling beyond the cost
and power efficiency constraints of current electrical networks. The applicability of these OCS
networks in real-world datacenters is highly dependent on the speed and optical loss of the WSS
elements. We have demonstrated a grating-based WSS in silicon photonics that improves on these metrics
and allows greater integration potential relative to previously demonstrated MEMS-based WSS devices.